Tuesday, December 30, 2008

New Name

The Deejanator recently left a comment suggesting we change the name of our blog (was Bringing Our Boys Home).

I wanted to come up with something appropriate, something that speaks to who we are and what we are about. I thought maybe it should have deep meaning, but quickly changed my mind.

So, we are now Adventures in Chaos. It is definitely chaos, but good chaos!

And Again

Tristan did it again.

I saw it this time.

Gone are the days of him staying where I put him, huh?

Tristan Rolled Over...

...and we missed it! :(

Last night I was cooking food to bring to our Bible Study group. Chuck was sitting with the boys at the dining room table and Tristan was on a blanket in the living room on his back (within eyeshot of Chuck at the table).

I came out to the living room and noticed Tristan was on his belly - and he wasn't screaming. Tristan hates hates hates tummy time. So I said to Chuck, "Oh, you're doing tummy time with Tristan and he's not hating it." To which Chuck replied, "What are you talking about?" That's when we realized that Tristan rolled over on his own. Go Tristan!

In other news, Samuel is sick. He's running a temperature of 103 and is laying on the couch as I type. That is not normal Samuel behavior at all. If either kid is going to lay down for a few minutes, it's Noah. So, we are waiting for the doctor's office to open so we can get him an appointment. Poor guy.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas

An awesome Christmas Eve service...

New pj's for everyone...

Three little boys in bed...

A tree lit up with gifts piled under it...

A giddy Grandma arriving in 14 hours...

Christmas this year will be unlike anything Chuck and I have experienced before. My heart is so full I can barely breathe. God is good.

I pray that your family has a wonderful Christmas and that it is centered around Jesus instead of stuff. Because stuff fades away, but eternity does not.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Movin' on Up

Tristan has moved up to size 3 diapers.

Where does the time go??!!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Tristan

Tristan's doctor appointment went well today. He's over the 100th percentile for height at 27 inches and is in the 95th percentile for weight. He is a whopping 16 lbs 10 oz. Another 8 oz and he'll double his birth weight. He is 18 weeks old today.

My doctor doesn't suggest introducing rice cereal until 6 months old, so we will start that in mid February.

Other than screaming his head off right after his shots he is doing fine. No fussing - he's happy as can be.

Oh, and by the way, Tristan is totally getting his height and weight from his father. I weighed 16 lbs at a year and never made it past 5 ft 2 in (with shoes on...).

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Random Thoughts Before Bed

My bloglessness lately has not been because of lack of material. There are just not enough hours in the day. Or maybe there are too many. Definitely not enough sleeping hours, but I digress. Here are some things I've been meaning to blog about.
  • We are having family pictures taken tomorrow. For free. I love free. Someone left a comment on my blog a few months back about an organization called Celebrate Adoption. They work with photographers all over the country to provide free family pictures to newly adoptive families. We are doing pictures at the beach and we're really hoping the weather cooperates.
  • Tristan is so very close to rolling over. Any day now.
  • Tristan is still waking up throughout the night. I think it is due to his addiction to his pacifier. Lack of sleep has the ability to make me crazy. I hope I get a good stretch of sleep soon.
  • Noah and Samuel are enjoying calling me Juli. They do so about 50% of the time. Especially Noah. We are constantly reminding them to call me Mommy.
  • Tristan goes to the doctor tomorrow. We'll see just how chunky he is. I'm guessing he's over 16lbs now. We shall see.
  • If you would, please pray for the McDonald family. Their kids' visa appointment is tomorrow morning. They are really hoping to bring their three girls home from Haiti before Christmas. What a gift that would be!
  • There are lots of families adopting from Haiti who are stuck in various steps. Some have waited A REALLY LONG TIME. Please pray for these families as they weather another Christmas without their kids home. I know what that's like. It's hard.
  • Today the pest control guy was here to spray for bugs. After he left Noah said, "By uhh uhh Grandpa." He knew it wasn't Papa (Chuck), but he worked really hard to give the guy a name. Even funnier is that the guy was probably in his 30s. Luckily he didn't hear it.
  • Chuck has gotten in the habit of telling the boys to give him some sugar when he wants a kiss. Samuel will now only kiss me if I ask for sugar. He is seriously a hilarious kid. Noah is too, but he doesn't mean to be. Samuel likes to be funny and he is really good at it.
  • The other night I went to check on the boys before going to bed and found Noah in Samuel's bed. When they first came home they slept together, but they've been sleeping separately for probably 2 1/2 months now. It was so sweet to see, but really makes me wonder why. Did the poor guy have a bad dream?? I'm so grateful they have each other.

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of for now. Off to sleep I go.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Any Recommendations??

Okay, so the clothing is purchased, the money is set aside, and now all we need to do is make an appointment for family pictures.

Who do you recommend?? What suggestions and tips would you give me to make this go smoothly? What time of day is best? Worst? What should I expect to spend?

Locals, can you tell me of great experiences you've had locally? Any good deals you know of?

Thanks!

Post of Pictures

Sleeping Baby...

Thanksgiving Day

Having Fun During the First Snow

Sleeping with thier butts up in the air!

Grandpa and the boys.

The bunnies needed a diaper change, too.

Samuel licking snow.

Samuel nurses the bunny.

Love offerings...

Noah nurses his bunny.

Couch Potato

Hanging out with friends.

Tristan moves all around on his mat - even off of it!

Daddy reading to the boys.

Silly Samuel

Huge


Tristan, who will officially be four months old on Monday, is wearing a nine month outfit today.
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It's been hanging in his closet, and I've assumed it is still too big. Chuck decided to dress him in it this morning and it fits just fine.
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If breastmilk alone has chunked him up like this, what is going to happen when we begin to add food later this month??
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If he could get them off his hands, he'd be eating his fingers and thumbs. He chows on them. Good thing they don't come off!
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He is SUCH a cutie!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Gratitude

For the last week I've been reflecting on things I'm grateful for.

One of the things I'm so totally grateful for is just how excited people are to see the twins. They have quite the fan club. And it does my heart well to see them so loved and wanted. I'm not sure how much they get it now, but I know that one day they will realize that SO MANY people love them and are so happy that they are a part of our family. They will know how much they were prayed for. And that is such a gift.

While posting about gratitude, I can't help but post about yesterday.

My friend Debbie and her four kids came over. Not only did they come over and provide adult conversation AND kid fun, they also brought lunch for everyone and hot wheels! The boys had so much fun with their friends and I had fun with Debbie. Since she was here, I was brave enough to go outside with all three boys and I found out it's not so hard. The weather was great - 60 degrees! The twins had a great time playing in the yard. I had forgotten how many outside toys we have in our toybox out there. Tristan hung out in the Baby Bjorn and I picked up sticks in the yard with the grabber. Yesterday was so nice on so many levels. Thank you, Debbie!!

Nehemiah 8:10 says that, "...the joy of the Lord is your strength." That verse makes me think of Debbie. She has FOUR little kids. One is deaf (but hears with a cochlear implant) and was born prematurely. Another is adopted and has some challenging behavior at times. But Debbie is always happy. She is always doing for others. She is such an example to me of how the joy of the Lord is our strength. I just had to share that. I know you are reading this, Debbie, so thank you for being who you are and allowing God to work through you.

Oh, and Debbie and her husband, Pete, were a driving force in our decision to adopt. They spent many Sundays after church talking to us in the parking lot after church about adoption. It was Debbie who first mentioned that we should adopt from Haiti. It was also Debbie who encouraged us to adopt before having biological children.

Friday, December 05, 2008

For SNL Fans Only

Funny story.

So, the boys were playing with some rubber ducks and some stacking boxes.

Noah came over to me all excited and showed me his rubber duck inside of a small box. I said, "Oh look, it's your duck in a box." And the I totally busted out laughing. It reminded me of a favorite video on Saturday Night Live.

This will probably offend someone. Just a warning...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhwbxEfy7fg